The Louvre Museum in Paris was forced to close on Monday after hundreds of employees went on strike to protest “increasingly deteriorated working conditions.”
Around 400 of the museum’s 2,100 staffers participated in the strike, blocking the museum’s iconic pyramid entrance, according to the New York Times.
The three major unions representing Louvre workers—the CGT, CFDT, and Sud—announced the strike last week in a notice to France’s Ministry of Culture. The notice, shared with press, reads, “The theft of 19 October 2025 highlighted shortcomings in priorities that had long been reported.” The notice further said that museum workers “feel that they are now the last line of defense before collapse,” and that management had failed to create “sufficient awareness of the crisis we are facing.”
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For the striking workers, the brazen robbery of $102 million in French crown jewels in October was clear evidence of deep rot and dysfunction in the museum’s operations.
Museum staff hold banners and union flags outside the entrance to the Louvre Museum as workers vote to go on strike.
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A notice informs members of the public of the closure of the Louvre Museum as members of the French CGT union protest outside the entrance.
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Museum staff stage a protest as workers voted to go on strike.
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Indeed, it has been a difficult year for the Louvre, with staff repeatedly warning of bad conditions at the museum and threatening to strike. In January, amid staff unrest, a memo written by director Laurence des Cars leaked to the press. In it, des Cars warned of water leaks, overcrowding, a “proliferation of damage in museum spaces.” Des Cars went on to call for a major overhaul of the museum, which is run by the state. A week later, President Emmanuel Macron announced an extensive renovation plan, estimated to cost €700–800 million. But with work on that not to be completed until 2031, it did little to alleviate staff discontent. In June, the museum closed when staff launched a wildcat strike.
In October, after the infamous burglary, the staff—along with the general public—was furious in the aftermath, even booing des Cars in a staff meeting days after. An official report then found that the museum’s security systems were outdated and inadequate, while union officials complained about cut hours and staff reductions, which they felt hindered security.
As if that wasn’t enough, the museum was forced to close its southern Sully wing in late November after structural weaknesses were found in some of the wings. A water leak around this time also damaged hundreds of books in the museum’s Egyptian antiquities department library.
The Louvre has yet to comment on the strike, or union officials’ accusations.
